Dear parents and students,

I wanted to explain to you the grading system I use in my class. It is a little different
from grading systems you may be familiar with, and I want to avoid any confusion.
To start with, I use the standards-based grading system, or SBG for short. This
means that assessments will receive a grade for each standard that is covered by
the assessment, rather than a single grade for the entire assessment. This shows
exactly which parts of the content the students have learned, and which they may
still need work on. I will provide feedback on all assessments, so that students will
know why they received the grade that they did. I will not grade homework, as I
believe its primary purpose is practice. However, we will be using the homework in
class.
I use a 4-point grading method that appears as follows:

Grad Level of What this means

e Mastery
4 Mastery The student understands the concept very well, and is
completely ready to move on to the next level concept.
3 Proficient The student understands the concept, but still has room
for improvement before moving on.
2 Semi- The student understands a small part of the concept, but
proficient still needs a lot of practice.
1 Unsatisfactor The student does not understand the concept and will
y need additional help.

Mastery is the goal for every student, but proficient is also acceptable. Students
with 1s and 2s will receive additional support to help raise their grade. I also allow
re-dos and re-takes on all graded assignments.
To keep student behavior from impacting their academic work, I will also provide a
point system for behavior. This will not affect their academic grades, but will still
provide information on their behavior.
Here is an example of how grades on a report card might look:

Subject Grad Behavior Grad

e e
Physics 4 Homework 3
Life Science 3 Preparedn 4
ess
Earth Science 4 Cooperatio 2
n

I hope this clears up any confusion with the grading system I use. Feel free to
contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Rowlison